The Everafter Warriors
by Dragon with two hearts
Summary: A castle of Nations fic. Set in the future. Any more and I'll reveal the plot. Also, this is not all my ideas. Every EVEN chapter was written by WolfenElemental on dA. Please thank her too. FINALLY COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

Christmas, the time of year when children stop annoying their older siblings and start annoying their parents and grandparents. Allin Karyetz was one such child, asking for random toys and books. When Christmas day finally rolled around she was one of the most excited children in her family. That year they took a trip to their grandparents' house, in Nebraska. It was a huge house, looking like a medieval castle than a place someone would actually live. It was Allin's fist time there instead of her grandma coming to her house and she was amazed at all of the unusually flat land around it, like the house once had an abandoned cornfield around it, or other buildings. All of that strange information was forgotten upon the first glimpse of the house. The thing was huge certainly, but the strangest thing about it was the massive glass panels in the front that featured an odd diamond-in-diamond pattern.

"Wow." Allin whispered.

"If you think that's impressive wait until you see the inside," Her mom said, having heard the gasp.

It seemed to take forever to finally get up to the front door but by the time they reached it the house was all they could see in front of their car. By the time they had gotten out and unpacked their things from the trunk Allin's grandma had made it out the front door and gotten almost halfway to where they had parked.

"Hi, Mom!" Allin's mother yelled happily.

"Hello, sweetie!" She yelled back as she started running to help them with their bags. When she got there she wasn't even breathing heavily, despite being over 50 years old.

"Mom, you don't need to help us, we have things under control." Allin's mother said in exasperation.

"Oh, please," she sniffed," don't treat me like some broken down old mare who cant handle the harness, let alone the plow.

There must have been a farm here, Allin thought, amused before she noticed that her grandma had picked up her bags and was now walking back towards the front door.

"How she manages, I'll never know." Allin's mother sighed.

Once they had all gotten inside and settled in, Allin's grandma started cooking Christmas dinner.

"It'll be ready at around five, so enjoy exploring Cas- I mean the house." She told them

Odd, she almost called this place Castle, like it was a real person, Allin thought. She looked at her parents, but they hadn't noticed anything odd so she shrugged the thought off.

By 2:00 Allin had searched her way through almost every accessible room in the house, but not finding much in the way of entertainment, became bored. At the end of the hall there was two doors, one was a simple, wooden door with ancient looking steel hinges and a doorknob. That door, however, was locked tight. The other door was more decorative, painted in a pleasant blue color, and the best part, unlocked. She opened it slowly, so as to avoid knocking anything over. Allin needn't have worried because when she looked inside she saw a roomy space with a lighter shade of the color that the door was painted in. In the corner was a small rocking horse wearing a fancy pink saddle. Balancing precariously in the saddle, the only dark spot in the room, was a raven statue. It was painted totally in black except for its eyes, which were a sparkling red color. Someone had purposely set it on the horse so that if anyone walked into the room that would be the first thing they saw. Allin walked over to it, constantly keeping eye contact for a reason she couldn't figure out. When she was standing face-to-face with it she saw that its feathers were not totally black, but painted with subtle greens and blues like a real raven would look.

"You're a pretty bird." Allin whispered to it, as though it could hear her compliment. When it didn't respond, she shrugged and walked away to explore the rest of the room.

The opposite corner was occupied by a toy chest, a huge toy chest. Allin walked over to it and undid the clasp holding it shut. When she opened it there was a light scattering of the average girl's stuffed animals and dolls but hidden under them was a big box. Allin ignored the toys and reached straight for the box.

When she had finally pulled the box out she noticed that it had the same metal designs as the old, locked, wooden door in the hall. She undid the clasp on the box and opened it to find hundreds of old pictures, an ancient looking key, some black industrial thread and a needle. She pulled out the needle and thread first, but set it down when it failed to spark enough interest in her. After the thread she pulled out the key. It was heavy and black.

It probably goes to that wooden door I saw, She thought. I should show this to grandma so she can show me the room.

Allin put the key in her pocket and turned back to the box. For the final time she reached into the box and pulled out about ten of the pictures. Seven of them were pictures of the old house, she put those back into the box, keeping her focus on the final three in her hand. One had her Grandma, only much younger probably about 19 years old, she was smiling, wearing a shirt in that nice blue color and a pair of blue jeans. A purple sweater was tied around her waist. The other person in the picture was a tall man wearing heavy looking, grey and black mountain climbing gear and a black helmet. His face was friendly looking, yet oddly inhuman and flat looking. He carried a pickaxe for whatever reason and was laughing heavily. In the background a shorter man with a huge floppy hat and grey hair was smiling at the couple. At his feet sat a skull, Allin looked hard at that part of the picture for a long time but finally realized that the skull had to be fake. The shorter man was also wearing a very old-timey outfit with a strange looking tie in the front. In the very back was a grove of trees and an old cart that looked like it was falling apart at the seams.

The second picture looked much like the first only it featured a beautiful red-haired girl standing on a stage, playing a well made violin. Also on the stage was another friendly looking man only he was well dressed in a white shirt and brown dress pants. Contrary to the rest of his outfit, he wore heavy boots, an orange striped sock and a jaunty striped bandana. His blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail at the base of his skull except for one of his bangs, which hung in front of his left eye. A left eye, which had an awful grey scar running across it. He was also playing a violin. In the background was red curtains that typically you would find in a fancy auditorium. The strangest part about that was the raven circling over their heads. Allin turned back to the rocking horse but the bird was still there staring at her. She shuddered and turned to the last picture.

The last picture was a group shot of all of the people in the previous pictures, arms around each others shoulders, laughing and generally having a good time. In the background were the huge glass panels that covered the front of the house. The panels gave off a soft red glow something they had been lacking when the family arrived.

Allin got up suddenly, wanting to tell her grandma what she had found. She ran to the raven statue with the three pictures and key clutched in her hand.

"I'll be right back," she told it, and ran out the door at top speed and back to the kitchen. Unseen by Allin, the raven blinked her ruby eyes.

Back in the kitchen, her grandma was just finishing up dinner preparations. The table was set with gorgeous plates and lots of delicious food items.

"Grandma! I found a room with some cool things in it. It was blue and there was a little raven statue in it." Allin yelled as she sprinted into the kitchen.

Allin's grandma, immediately realizing what she was freaking out about, quickly quieted her, saying "Keep the key hidden, I'll show you the room after dinner."

All throughout dinner Allin was a fidgety mess, constantly glancing at her grandma and at the hallway to the two rooms. She felt sure that her parents knew her little secret and were deliberately dragging out the conversation.

After dinner, Allin jumped up and was like a little twister trying to clean the mess as quickly as possible. When it was done she grabbed her grandma by the hand and started dragging her down the hall.

"Where are you going Allin?" Her mother asked. Her grandmother, however, answered for her.

"Oh, Allin wanted me to show her what was at the end of the hall here." She said amused at how stressed out looking Allin was getting at the wait.

"O.K. Have fun sweetie."

At the end of the hall Allin's grandma turned to her and asked her if anything strange happened while she was in the blue room.

"No, but it felt like the bird was staring at me," Allin said confused about the question.

"That bird has a name you know."

"What is it?"

"Her name is Arma." Allin's grandmother said with a laugh.

"You named a statue?" Allin asked, with a tilt of her head.

"And for a good reason too, but I didn't name her. A- an old friend did." She turned towards the door and whistled. A whistle that was returned by a tapping noise that quieted down as if to announce the arrival of the bird flying through the door.

Allin gasped "She's a real bird? But she was sitting so still!"

"Come on, I need to show you something. I'll need that key though."

Allin handed her grandma the key and they both turned to the locked wooden door. As her grandma unlocked the door the bird, Arma, turned towards Allin and gave her a long stare. Allin couldn't answer her because right as she opened her mouth, her grandma opened the door.

Inside the room it was dusty. Allin sneezed, but when she looked up the walls were plastered with maps of what looked like an amusement park. There were also more pictures of those people from the box pictures. Each one had a signature, apparently signed by the person in the picture. The man with the pickaxe had signed his with CLIMBER. Must be a pet name, Allin thought. The blonde man with the ponytail signed his KARL. The redhead had signed hers with Rachel.

"Who are these people, Grandma?" Allin asked, genuinely curious about all of them.

"Oh, those are friends from better days back when I was young." She replied. "I actually think they're still around, if Arma is any hint to go by."

"Still around?" She asked, but her grandma was staring at Arma, nodding as though responding to actual statements the bird was making.

"Ok, so you'll tell them about tomorrow?" She asked. Arma stared at her. "Ok then." She walked to a dusty window opened it and threw the bird outside. She flew off to a distant forest area, a black spot against the clear sky.

"So what are we doing tomorrow, Grandma?" Allin asked, still confused about the strange one sided conversation with Arma.

"Tomorrow," She said with a smile, "We're going walking in the forest."

The next day Allin got up extra early, trying to surprise her grandma, but was shocked when she saw the note on the table saying that they would be outside all day and don't worry we are totally safe. Walking to the front door she pulled on a coat and old shoes. Outside she saw her grandma waiting by the path that led around to the back of the house. Right before she got there though her grandma yelled.

"Castle! I'm taking someone to see our friends! Keep the house going!"

Allin would have thought that her grandma had finally lost her marbles if the house hadn't responded with:

"Yes, Miss Clarice" At every word the glass paneling flashed red.

"Thank you, Castle!"

Allin ran to her grandma without being prompted. She tried to ask what the heck had just happened but couldn't find a way to put it to words.

"It's just Castle, Allin, don't worry." Her grandma said, laughing.

They walked for about an hour during which time they saw Arma, who flew down and must have said something to Allin's grandma because she told Arma to tell them no tackling.

At the end of the path was a small forest grove. Through the trees, Allin thought she saw a small house but couldn't be sure. They walked into the trees and as they got closer to the center of the grove it became apparent that there was a small house and because Allin could hear muffled whispers she knew that whoever lived there knew that they were coming. Allin's grandma walked up to the door and knocked on it lightly. The whispery voices stopped immediately. She sighed and turned to Allin.

"They know that we're here now and they think that they can scare us," She said, snickering, "but I know where they wait now and we can get them."

She pulled a red marker from her coat and drew two X's on the walls of the house on either side of the door. Laughing quietly, she put the marker away and walked back to Allin.

"Ok, you need to hit the X on the right side of the door as hard as you can. I'll take the one on the left." They both snuck up to the house, taking care to avoid sight of the windows. On Allin's side she could hear quiet laughter. She looked at her grandma, who held up three fingers. One at a time she put them down, after the second finger was down she put her hands together into fists and prepared to swing as hard as possible into the X. Allin did the same.

"Two. One." She whispered, "Now!"

They both swung and hit the wall at the same time with a resounding crash that was responded to by loud yells from the inside of the house.

"Ahhgh! Why would you do that?" There was two of them but their voices didn't sound human, they sounded hollow and toneless but distinct and different at the same time.

Allin's grandma laughed and walked to the door. She grabbed the handle and pulled the door open. The scene inside was funny enough to get a chuckle from Allin. Both of the people inside were staggering around clutching their heads and groaning in pain.

"Come on inside, Allin they cant jump us this time." Her grandma said, still laughing.

Allin slowly wandered inside and was amazed at the sheer simplicity of the quarters. There were only a few pictures on the walls, which were painted with simple white paint. The empty fireplace looked like it had never been used, which was a questionable fact because it was obvious that this place didn't have central heating. There was only one other door, which led into a hallway that went in two different directions, presumably to the bedrooms. Allin turned back to the two boys they had startled. The taller one still had a hand on his helmet but otherwise they looked recovered.

"Hello Miss Uhh…" The tall one looked confused.

"Allin," Clarice prompted.

"Ahh. Miss Allin. Pleased to meet you." He held out a gloved hand. "My name is Climber."

Allin grabbed his hand and shook it. Looking closely at his face she noticed that it was drawn on. In mud. She was off put by this fact, but his smile was nice enough to cause her to smile too. As she was shaking his hand she felt a colder presence right behind her. Freezing out of nervousness she glanced around, only to come face-to-face with the biggest grin she had ever seen.

"Ahhh!" She yelped in surprise at seeing the shorter blond guy so close. Allin wondered how he had snuck up on her.

"Hello, little human," He said in a suave voice, still smiling yet lowering his eyebrows in an oddly frightful expression.

It must be that scar, Allin decided that was the reason he looked so threatening at that moment. Wait a minute, 'Little Human'? Why would he use that term? Aren't they human too?

"Karl…" Clarice said warningly.

"What?" He said innocently "She's a new face."

"Carl?" Allin asked, now very confused at the odd subtle exchanges going on between the three.

Karl turned back to Allin, still grinning. "No. Karl; With a K" he said gleefully. Allin shuddered at his constant happiness and at the fact that he had apparently read her thoughts exactly like she would read a book. What had made him think that she had spelled it with a C?

"So, you are human right?" Karl asked "I thought they talked more than this."

"I could ask you the same thing." Allin replied, finally having regained her confidence in speaking to this odd, cold man.


	2. Chapter 2

"This may take long to explain." Clarice had managed to get Allin and Karl to calm down and the four now sat round the dinner table in the cottage. It was a foldaway table, and slightly dusty, giving the impression that dinner wasn't served often. Climber looked slightly awkward, twiddling his thumbs so much they were almost knotted together. Karl was leaning back in his chair looking perfectly fine, but still grinning that sideways smile. Arma fluttered through the window and perched on his shoulder, as if it was her ordinary seat. Allin was sitting bolt upright with eyes open, beside Climber. Glancing at her grandmother, she poked Climber in the arm. Soft, pillow-like, and he didn't react. Clarice shot her a disapproving look. Grandmothers are good at those.

"Long ago, there was a park round here", she began, like it was a fairytale story. This made both Allin and Climber look up and listen intently. Karl tried muffling a snigger at this reaction. This caused Clarice to glare at him, and notice something.

"Wait. Where's Mr Derippe?"

"Still in bed I suppose", replied Karl dryly. His grey eye twitched and the grin grew. "I'll go see." With his orange and brown coat flapping behind him, he left the room.

A few minutes later, a loud "BOO!" shook through the house, causing Allin and Clarice to jump. Climber shuddered in quiet laughter, while Karl swaggered back in, a short man with a tousle of grey hair and a tall hat perched on his head following with a small stagger, and a shell-shock expression.

"He's up", said Karl.

"Yes. Now." Allin giggled as well. 'Mr Derippe' looked over and smiled.

"It's been long since I've seen someone as young as you", he said, slowly and with a small croak. "You look like your grandmother."

"I do?" Allin frowned slightly, but Clarice smiled.

"If I may continue", she said. "Anyway, the park became abandoned, and the statues and mannequins inside began to come to life."

Climber smiled proudly at this comment.

"People sometimes came across the park, whether it was by accident, or dare, or simply to find solitude. And sometimes they weren't.....welcomed." Everyone in the room minus Allin seemed to look at Karl. Even Arma blinked and stared.

"Hey but that's over and done with now", he protested. Shakily. Clarice rolled her eyes but smiled in any case.

"What did he do?", Allin asked. Karl got there first.

"I didn't like the humans invading the park. It was our territory then, but they still seemed to enjoy wandering around and claiming it to be theirs. So I."

"That'll be enough, Karl", Mr Derippe jumped in. "If Miss Clarice may continue." Clarice nodded her thanks.

"The life source was the large window that stood at the entrance of the park. You've already met him." Allin gasped.

"Castle?!"

"Yes, that was him", Clarice laughed. "He was the one that brought everyone to life. The good, the bad."

"And the ugly?", Climber finished.

"And the ugly." Allin screwed up her face, thinking hard.

"Like zombies and skeletons?"

"And pirates." Karl picked up Arma, and turned around for a moment. When he turned back, a black tongue was hanging out of his mouth. He blew a raspberry at Climbers' back, and Allin burst out laughing.

"Can we not have any more interruptions?", Clarice sighed. "And Arma, you know what we said about the shape-shifting." The tongue changed to the crow and shrugged, or did a something like it.

"So there's the park, with all the living statues and all in there. Then one night, a girl found herself in the park. Lost, and out of range on her mobile.

Suddenly, she comes upon a mannequin. Boy does she get a surprise when it comes to life."

"That was me!", cheered Climber.

"The girl didn't trust the mannequin that much, especially since he had a pickaxe. But he protected her through the park, with no thought for his own safety, only for hers'. Because he wanted to be useful." Allin swore she saw Climber blush just then.

"Still, the girl carried on visiting the park. She even went on to help the mannequin in a crazy asylum, and repair a statue after an unfortunate accident." Karl huffed.

"But then the park had to be demolished. The girl was a mother by now, and so she put most of her savings into saving at least one part of the park. The Castle of Nations. That's Castle's full name", she explained when Allin cocked her head. "She built a small cottage nearby for her friends to live in, and some more of the statues 'migrated' into the woods beyond. Her son married, had a daughter, and here we are." Clarice sat back, content. Allin for the next two minutes in silence, jaw hanging slightly.

"T-That was you", she stammered. Clarice nodded. "That is so COOL!" Everyone winced at the seven year-olds' voice pitch. She was starting to bounce on her seat in the way that told you she was either over-excited or needed the loo.

"Calm down", said Clarice. "You might break the chair."

"But I really gotta pee", Allin hissed back.

"In the back garden. Arma, look after her." Girl and crow exited the room at a surprising speed. Karl raised an eyebrow.

"Human thing. Don't ask." She sat back with a smile. "So how are things these days? I haven't seen you for long."

"Two of the dragons have left", said Climber. "And we haven't seen many of the maze statues."

"I met a werewolf boy yesterday", added Mr Derippe. "From the maze. He wasn't acting right." Karl rolled his eyes.

"Those wolves. I couldn't sleep a wink last week because of their racket."

"But now they're c-completely silent", Climber finished. "They haven't been seen since then." Silence settled over the cottage like a blanket.

"Is it just me or."

------------------

Allin placed her ear to the door. Nothing.

"They must be whispering", she whispered to Arma, who was hovering over her shoulder. She still couldn't hear anything from the crow, although everyone else seemed to hear her speak. So she just guessed from the expressions of Arma. Right now, she was frowning of sorts.

"Don't look at me like that. I just want to know why they locked the door after I left." Allin sighed. "Can you open it from the other side?" Arma swept past and through a side window. The door handle clicked, and Allin hurried inside.

The table was overturned, the chairs were scattered, a thin translucent layer of black was spread over most of the room, and a pair of stocky black blocks were jammed up the chimney. Allin ran over, and pulled hard on them, releasing Mr Derippe and causing him to fall on top of her.

"Mr Derippe!", she gasped. "What happened?"

"W-Wolf", he stammered. Allin frowned, then looked up at a muffled noise further up the chimney.

"Excuse me." She looked up the chimney hole. Karl stared down, looking sheepish and very much embarrassed. "Could you get me down, little human?"

"Only when you stop calling me that", Allin replied huffily.


	3. Chapter 3

Allin sighed and reached her hand up the chimney. How Karl had gotten wedged up in the chimney was beyond her. Standing up a little further she could almost reach his hand but she was still too short.

"Stupid shortness! Oops, sorry Mr. Derippe." She grinned sheepishly at the shorter statue. He grinned back.

"Don't worry about it, young lady," he said, " And call me Jack."

"Thanks, but please, call me Allin." She was still struggling to reach Karl, but to no avail. She turned to Arma, who had flown to a relatively clean section of the table (not that it mattered much). "Hey Arma, wanna help me out with something?" Arma flew over and looked up the chimney at the still grinning idiot lodged in it. She looked up at Allin, asking what to do.

"Arma, I need you to fly outside to the top of the chimney, then fly down the top with as much speed and power as possible."

Arma looked up the chimney again, then flew out the open window.

"How will this help me get down again?" Karl asked. Allin didn't answer, she just grabbed Jackie's remaining hand and backed away from the fireplace. This action was met with an awful scraping sound from further up in the chimney, followed by porcelain cracking sounds and a loud yell. A thick cloud of soot flew out of the fireplace and settled around the room. Blackened from the soot, sitting in a jumbled heap in the fireplace was Karl. Perched on his rump, looking extremely smug was Arma.

Allin flashed her a thumbs-up and walked over to Karl. Kneeling down next to him, she could see he was very much unconscious. Arma flew down on top of his helmet and started pecking it, presumably to wake him up. He grumbled and rubbed his face on the floor.

"You're early Rachel, I didn't get to finish the surprise." He muttered, in a somewhat playful whine.

Allin turned to Jack. "Did he keep an airhorn, or some other kind of loud noise maker around?" She asked.

"Well…he mostly just yelled a lot, but… there might actually be something." Jackie turned and hopped back towards the rooms. He returned with a small bottle that had a red lid with a speaker attached. "Like this?" He asked.

"Exactly. You and Arma may want to cover your ears." Allin held the airhorn next to Karl's ear, and pressed. Karl left a small impression in the floor when he landed. Allin was laughing hysterically.

"Very funny little human." He said with a sarcastic twang. That just sent her into another laughing fit.

When she finally calmed down enough to speak clearly, she noticed something. Something important.

"Where are grandma and the other guy?" She asked. They must have disappeared when the wolves came. Wait a minute, wolves? Like the maze wolves, or real wolves?

"Mister Jack, when you say wolves, you weren't talking about the nutter from the maze, were you?"

Jackie looked around nervously. "The very same." He said with a shudder.

"Are we going to rescue them?" She asked.

"Are you insane?" Karl chimed in. "Those wolves will tear us apart. Miss Clarice and Climber can handle themselves. They did fight Big Bad together, so I've heard."

"Big Bad?"

"The Big Bad Wolf."

Allin sighed, tossing that piece of information out the metaphorical window. It was unnecessary information. "Does that mean we can save them anyways?" She must be bored.

Jack sighed, "I guess we have no choice." He shot a look at Karl that said 'We'll just lead her around in circles, she'll forget soon enough.' Karl shrugged and headed for the door.

"Let's go then." He said, walking outside.


	4. Chapter 4

"I've seen that log with the strange pile of snow before."

"Maybe it's… just your imagination," Mr Derippe replied.

"And impatience", Karl added quietly.

"…..I've seen it three times before." Arma swooped down and gave the men the 'She's figured it out' look.

"We haven't even gone that far into the woods", Allin complained, rubbing her arms.

"Are you kidding?", said Karl, a small laugh escaping as his lips. "My feet are hurting and I'm a statue!" Allin blinked. Then pointed to her left. Behind a set of bushes you could see the cottage, lights glowing. Karl smacked himself in the face, admitting defeat.

"Cursed humans being so smartass and all", he muttered. "I told you we should have gone further right!" This was addressed to Jackie. He was staring at something past Karl, eyes wide. Allin was acting similarly.

"What?" Arma fluttered around in front of his face in panic. "You're joking." He turned.

A black wolf stood on a rock behind them, crouched down so it could leer in the statue's face. "You're not joking." The amber eyes slitted and a gooey grin appeared on it's face.

"……..Nice doggie", Karl muttered, his eye twitching madly. He raised his hands slowly and backed away. The wolf followed, and Allin noted that black smoke rose from its' back.

"Ok little doggie. Want to play a game?" Mr D. and Allin stared at Karl. What. The. Hell? Then Arma perched on his hand and Jackie seemed to nod in understanding. Allin was still clueless.

The wolf perked up it's ears, then growled lowly. Karl smiled playfully back.

"Take that as a yes." Suddenly, another pair of wolves appeared from the bushes. Karl almost frowned.

"Right. That puts a little damper on my plan." He shrugged. "Always Plan B."

"Which is?"

"Run like hell?", Allin suggested. "Because that is what we should be doing now." They were being pressed into a circle, the wolves snapping impatiently. Allin looked at Karl expectantly. He stared round, then grinned at the girl.

"Well, your Plan B sounds slightly better than mine."

"What was yours?"

"No idea."

"Oh boy." Then they bolted. The nearest wolf skidded round to pounce at Allin. However, Arma changed into an axe and Karl sent the wolf flying backwards into a tree, where it imploded. It's comrade launched itself forward for another attack, only to be was neatly beheaded by a single swipe. The final wolf made to run, but was impaled by a black spear and gutted against the rock.

------

Allin gaped. The wolf's 'blood' trickled down the rock, creating small indents as the stone was burnt away, and steaming in darkness as it hit the ground. She stared as the entire wolf dissolved like this, and quite some time afterwards. Jackie tapped her shoulder to get her attention, and she stammered slightly.

"It..It was trying to get me", she whispered.

"This…was why I was trying…to stay close to the house", Mr D. said almost angrily to Karl. "And why didn't…you defend straight away?" He carried on stroking Arma. The crow shook herself, then flew off to hop around in front of Allin. Karl shrugged.

"You know I couldn't have taken them all at once. I'd have ended up just like those stone wolves, turned into a shadow as well." Allin heard the last comment.

"So that's why the maze wolves vanished. They got turned into those."

"Exactly. At least we have a clue of why the wolves vanished, how those shadow turned up, and who took Clarice and Climber." Everyone turned to listen.

"The Big Bad Wolf's here."

The shadow wolf paused and sniffed the air. Dark shadows crossed overhead, and it snarled. Something out there had killed off it's brethren. It took off towards the source.

Moments later, three heads popped out of the undergrowth. Karl nodded to Arma, who flew on, watching out for any more sentries.

"Okay, so who is this nutter?", Allin asked Mr D. quietly.

"In the maze, there were several sorts of statue", Mr D, explained. "There were the angels, very few of which awoke, ….the armour suits, you had many forms there. There was a hydra, ……but he was more of an air-toy. Snake-Head, he was called. About as boisterous as the children who played with him..

And finally, ….the werewolves. There was a small pack, with three adults and around twelve teenagers. Only one of the…adults woke. He controls most of them now…. Three youngsters went awole." He sighed. "And good for them. I have a feeling that Lumin has sided with the Big Bad to gain control….over all the statues. He never liked the humanoid ones….especially the angels."

Arma suddenly swooped back, and Karl went into a defensive stance.

"Looks like we've been rumbled."

------------------

They appeared out of almost nowhere, blocking of exits and glaring at the threesome with a sort of sickly glee.

"Plan A's impossible, Plan B's also no do-able, and no, there isn't a Plan C", Karl finished before Allin could ask.

"How many wolves are there in total?", she asked.

"In the main pack, over thirty.…Those designers liked to spook the children", replied Mr D. Allin frowned. That wasn't good.

The nearest wolf prepared to pounce.

Then a plastic ball conked it on the head.

"BAZINGA!" A storm of balls rained out of the forest, crashing into the wolves with deadly accuracy. Several went up in smoke.

The barrage was closely followed by four figures, three humanoid, one wolf-like. But this wolf gleamed in the sunlight, covered in armour. The angry shouts and screams from these new attackers sent the wolves packing back into the shadows. The group's rescuers stood for a moment, panting.

Before bursting into laughter and caterwauls. The wolf-armour spotted the shocked trio, and padded over, the armour clanking with every step.

"Mr Derippe, sir", it said. The voice echoed inside the armour, but the mouth stretched into a smile. He turned and barked. The werewolves immediately stopped, and hurried over. The youngest caught Allin's eye, and tapped his friend's arm.

"It's a breather", he whispered. The older boy smiled and rolled his eyes.

All three boys were similar in the fact that their clothing was simply a T-shirt and shorts, tails swayed behind them, and a pair of wolf ears stuck out of their hair, which was black. However, they were different heights, with the tallest with slick back hair and red highlights, the middle with messy hair and blue streaks on his face, and smallest with simple yellow highlights.

The armour barked again. A huge lizard-like figure stepped carefully out of the woods, it's multiple heads swaying round and hissing, and looking very pleased with itself.

"Well now", Karl breathed. "Snake-Head, if I'm not mistaken."

"You are correct, p"

"Please. I'm not a pirate", he interrupted the armour, smiling dangerously. The wolf nodded slowly.

"You are a strange pack, even stranger to be venturing into these woods."

"We have purpose, Metal-Pad", Jackie said. "A friend of ours."

"A breather, I suppose." Metal-Pad shook his head. "She and the mannequin came through not to long ago. We shall lead you. You two." Karl and Allin looked up. "My name is Metal-Pad. The werewolves are known as Ace." The redhead grinned. "Tidal." The blue werewolf waved. "And Moony." The youngest smiled shyly. "The hydra is Snake-Head." The hydra lumbered forward, and Allin giggled as the heads nuzzled round her. They were connected to the body by plastic tubes, which led up out of the mouth. A hole was in the middle of it's back. Air was constantly blown through the mouths, and a bag of balls was hanging round it's neck. Metal-Pad nudged him to the side, and looked up at Allin. This close, she could see that it was completely empty.

"Now then. On our way."


	5. Chapter 5

They were walking deeper into the forest. Allin looked around at their odd group, animated amusement park statuary, a wolf in armor, and her. She sighed lightly, shaking her head.

"What's the matter?" Karl asked looking back at her curiously.

"Oh nothing," she said, pushing the awkward thoughts aside. They walked for a few mor minutes be fore she started in a soft singsong voice:

"Old McDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O."

The yellow haired werewolf twitched his ear and slowed his pace to walk beside her.

"What was that?" He asked curiously. "It sounds so familiar, but I swear I've never heard it before."

"Huh? Oh, it's just a little song. You're supposed to have an animal picked out, but I can't think of one." She looked up at the wolf, "Any suggestions?"

He looked thoughtful for a moment, "What about a dog?" He grinned, showing off some impressive fangs.

"Alright," Allin snickered a bit, "Wanna sing it with me?"

"Sure."

They both started singing to the melody, causing most of the group to turn and look at them. Karl and Snake-Head even joined in the little singsong. Karl only hummed along, while Snake-Head hissed in tune. When they were done Moony ran up to rejoin his friends. They kept elbowing his ribs and laughing. Even Metal-Pad's tail was wagging in amusement.

Allin slowed her pace a bit, so she was walking slightly behind Snake-Head. She didn't know why, but she just felt like the back of the group was safest. While she was walking back there something shimmery caught her eye. (She's seven, it was shiny. You do the math.) She glanced back up at the group; they didn't seem to notice, so she subtly started walking towards it.

It turned out to be a small lake, steaming in the winter air. She dipped a finger into it, only to find out that it was unusually warm, at least for wintertime temperatures. She heard soft thumping steps behind her, and a light clacking sound, like stone on stone. She turned quickly, only to come face to face with a large, rusty-colored, two-headed dragon. Both heads had fins but one also had whiskers, while the other had horns.

"Hello breather," The whisker headed one said in a masculine voice. The othe head chimed in, in a friendly female voice, "What are you doing here?"

"Umm… exploring really. I got separated from my group." Mostly truthful, it would pass for now.

A small splishing noise came from the lake behind her. "Do you need help finding them?" It asked in a semi-young voice.

Allin turned again, and saw a teenage boy swimming casually in the lake. She was shocked, to say the least. It was the middle of December, and here he was in a lake, and shirtless to boot.

"You're gonna freeze out there, mister." She called to him.

"No he won't," The female dragon said, "His species is designed for water, no matter the temperature."

"And besides, the water is warmer than normal." The other dragon said.

The teenager swam up to the edge of the lake and climbed out. His skin was a pale blue and he had darker stripes running down his back. His hair was also blue, but that was countered by his fin-like ears and black eyes. All in all, he looked at least half fish.

* * *

Back in the forest, the group walked on, oblivious to their missing member. At least, until Arma started pecking Karl's helmet hard enough to chip the paint. He reached up and grabbed her around the middle. Looking her directly in the eye he gave her a death glare. Arma just glared back, trying to get the message across.

"WHAT?!" Karl yelled loud enough to wake the dead, "Why didn't you tell me earlier?!"

He started frantically looking around where they had stopped, even going so far as to look inside Snake-Head's hollow stomach.

"What's…wrong, Karl?" Jackie asked slowly. He was answered, not by Karl, but by Moony, who sniffed the air and asked:

"Where'd the breather go?"

"Breather?" Jackie asked, then realizing what he was talking about, started panicking in his own slow way.

Ace sniffed the ground, then got up and pointed back the way they had come, if slightly to the right.

"She's over there," He said confidently, still pointing. "And she's talking with some kind of fish or something."

Karl took off in that direction, only to come to a screeching halt at the edge of the clearing. He did _not_ want to deal with the person he saw there. Arma came flying past at a significantly higher speed, and did not sop in time to prevent a small crash with the dragon. At least no one was hurt. Karl flinched a bit, not noticing the others, who had come up behind him. Jack and the wolves gave him a look of astonishment at the fear on his face, and turned to the situation at hand.

Nothing much had changed, Allin was still talking with the fish boy and Arma had found a place to perch on the dragon. Jack sighed and hopped out by the lake calling:

"Good morning, Aquis. Good morning, Capri."

They turned to the short statue and waved. "Greetings Mister Derippe."

Allin turned too and waved. "Hi, Mister Jack."

When he finally reached their little gathering, the first thing he did was turn to the fish kid and ask, "Who might you be?"

"Mizuno," He replied. "Haven't I seen you before, though?"

"Maybe, you actually…look familiar too. Were you by any chance in a city called Taitle?"

"The very same. Which means you must have been with the tall dude and the headless dragon."

"The…very same."


	6. Chapter 6

"Taitle?" Allin glanced back at Karl, but he was nowhere in sight. '_What could make him that frightened?_' she thought. '_He took out those wolves in no time at all. So why-_''

"Then there was that statue."

'_Ah. That would be why_' The fish boy looked about him, then spotted Arma. "He's here, isn't he?"

"Why're you so strung-up about it?", Tidal asked, sitting down and dipping his feet in the water. "You and the pirate got something between you?" He grinned. "Did he nick your girlfriend?" This was enough to send the other werewolves and Allin into laughing fits. The fish boy folded his arms angrily.

"No, he just tried to kill me. Twice." That stopped the laughing.

"Guilty as charged, unfortunatly", said Karl, walking up from behind the dragon, where he'd been hiding. "And I'd prefer not to go into a full out fight here. Firstly, really bad timing, and secondly, not in front of the kids." Ace huffed, and rolled his eyes.

"Not a flippin kid", he muttered. Karl ignored him.

"Still, at least it's good to see you looking well, Mizuno. The wound's healed up well." Mizuno touched his shoulder, and glared. Allin jumped when a stream of water left the lake and circled menacingly round his hand. Ace and Moony exchanged looks, and glanced at Tidal, who simply shrugged and returned to splashing water.

"And still got the same tricks up your sleeve. Or lack thereof in this case", said Karl, backing away. Mizuno prepared to throw the water, but Mr D. hopped between them.

"Much as I…do not usually agree with him…Karl is right. This is no…time to be fighting."

"Why? What's wrong?"

"Something bad is threatening the world", said Metal-Pad. "To put it shortly, the Big Bad."

"Him?! But isn't he just a-"

"He's as real as you can get. And he kidnapped two of our friends, is using a highly deranged statue NOT HIM!" Karl pried Mizuno off his throat. "A werewolf adult. And is probably going to change all the creatures from the park into his shadowlings, and suck this world dry."

"Then he'll go onto the next one", Ace muttered darkly. "And the next and the next and the next." Mr D. nodded in agreement.

"So far, most of the…maze wolves have been…changed."

"They're kinda easy to pick out", added Allin, thinking she should have some part in the conversation. "They're black, gooey grin, smoke rising off the back."

"Your everyday shadow token, basically", finished Mizuno. "Very well. I'll help. But not with him." Karl sighed.

"Look, can't you just drop it already?....well actually I'd like to kill you too, but we're on equals terms, and we should call time-out."

"Equal?"

"We both want to take out Big Bad. He took the kid's gran! That is a low blow, even for me." Allin's stomach sank. Great, now she was being used for leverage.

--------

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the lake bubble. A black shape snaked through the steam, under the water. Straight for them. Straight for Tidal.

"Look out!", she shouted. The werewolf leapt backwards as a pair of black jaws snapped where he had just been sitting. All it got was a mouthful of dirt and water. It screeched and rose up out of the lake waters.

"Snake-Head, can you clear the steam?", Metal-Pad shouted. With a war hiss, Snake-Head raised all ten of his heads and blew. The werewolves hunkered down in front of the blast, and Allin grabbed the nearest thing that wasn't being blown away. And Mizuno latched onto her leg. She fought the instinct to kick him in the face.

Then they crashed down as the wind cut off abruptly. The water attacker was revealed. A thirty-foot black serpent with razor sharp fins and a mocking wolf's head screeched.

"Oh dear", said Aquis.

"That looks like what was left of Brusel", Capri finished. "Terrible."

"Vanished three days ago."

"And it looks like they found him." The two headed dragon backed away, as the wolf-serpent reared back.

"What's so bad about him?", Allin called out. "He just a statue. Right?"

"With a high pressure water pump inside, yes", replied Aquis. Okay, not so good. And Ace, Moony and Metal-Pad were right in firing line.

"Crud", said Ace. "Guys. Sequence Eight!" Creating a seat with his hands, Ace ducked down and flung Moony high. The yellow haired werewolf flipped over the head of the serpent and grabbed a tendril, sending the blast off target. Allin yelped and dragged Mr D. out of the way.

"Watch where you're aiming that!", she and Tidal shouted.

"Sorry", came Moony's shout back. He swung back and forth, before landing on the serpent's back. He hopped about, yelping in pain. "The darkness burns!"

"You have no idea how cliché that sounded", Ace shouted in return. "Whack the head! Whack the head!" The head swang backward, catapulting the werewolf into the water.

"Moons!" Tidal started forward but a lashing tail threw him back. He looked desperate and scared. Ace growled angrily.

"He's a statue, he can breathe underwater", he snapped.

"But how, may I ask", said Mizuno. "Is he going to get out?" With that question left unanswered, he dashed forward, using several whirlpools of water to smash into the serpent's face and distract him, then fling himself over the tail and into the water.

"This is one mistake that Wolf made when sending the serpent", said Karl, when Allin looked anxiously after where the boys had vanished. "This place is perfect for Aqua Lad." As if on cue, a pillar of water burst upwards near the bank, spitting out Mizuno and a very sodden Moony. The serpent went to attack again, but was sent back by a hail of plastic balls, shot by Snake-Head and armed by Mr D. while Tidal nearby whooped and shouted, "How'd ya like those cakes, huh?!" While the younger werewolf stayed back with Allin and Mr D, Ace, Metal-Pad, Karl and Mizuno looked up at the swaying monster, who let out a battle screech.

"You are in for a world of hurt", said Ace, grinning.

Before dashing forward at a surprising speed. Tidal joined him in the dash, and they sprung lightly off their hands, somersaulting past each like acrobats. Or acro-wolves in this case. They bounced over the serpent's neck, slashing with their wolf-claws, before rolling round and swinging off via tendril. Allin gaped.

"Whoa", she gasped. She'd been to a circus before but this beat it by a mile. Metal-Pad's fighting technique was far simpler. While the werewolves distracted the head, he charged at the lower neck and crashed into it, raking with metal claws and a spiked tail. Balls fired out from Snake-Head. Karl and Mizuno went into a tag-team attack amazingly, with Karl balancing on top of wide streams like a surfer, and throwing a boomer-Arma-rang through the serpent to Mizuno on the other side, who returned the weapon with just as much force.

But the serpent wasn't defensless. Thick tendrils sprouted from it's side and slammed into the nearest attackers. One sent Metal-Pad's head flying, and he was forced to abandon his attack and search for it. This meant it could move far more. And it decided to dive. Karl and Mizuno were sent crashing into the lake, while Tidal and Ace soared backwards, smashing lopsidedly into Aquis and Capri. A few minutes of silence passed.

"Karl?" Allin stepped forward slowly through the steam. She couldn't see anything. "Mr Derippe? Metal-Pad? Moony?" She saw dark shapes up ahead and she started forward. Then a stone hand clamped round her mouth.

* * *

The place she was locked in looked like a room in the old ruins. Clarice had never liked them. They seemed seeped in darkness and cold.

No wonder they'd been brought here.

She hadn't seen Climber for quite some time, and was getting worried. For him, for Allin, for everyone. If the Big Bad had come, something awful was sure to happen.

For the first time in forty years, she felt like crying.

* * *

Allin struggled wildly against her captor.

"Would you shut up and wriggling!" She looked up, seeing a familiar face.

"I wouldn't move if I were you", Ace hissed nervously. To either side she could see a battered Karl with Arma fluttering close behind, a tired Moony supported Tidal, and a weary Mizuno. "Everyone's safe. But that serpent didn't come alone." Eyes appeared in the shadows. Karl groaned.

"Not again."


	7. Chapter 7

At least ten pairs of bright yellow eyes showed up in the gloomy forest. They completely surrounded the small group, hissing and smiling their drippy smiles. There was no possible way they were going to win this fight, short of a miracle. Allin and Moony shivered out of fear, Karl, out of energy loss.

From one of the pairs of eyes came a harsh, growly voice.

"Haaa, children, will you stand and fight, or let your friends die?"

The voice kept switching positions, moving from one wolf to another. The wolves' ears fell flat to their skulls out of fear. Allin whimpered a little. Karl, however, took a small step forward, no longer shaking.

"If you want to hurt anyone, and I mean anyone, you will have to deal with me first." He said in a threateningly determined voice. While everyone was distracted with this little speech, one of the wolves from the back of the circle pounced, landing squarely on Snake-Head's back. He let out a screeching hiss, rolling over on top of the smoky wolf trying to dislodge it. All hell broke loose at that moment. Allin, Mizuno and the werewolves ducked as no less than five oversized grimmwolves jumped out of the underbrush. Mizuno wheeled his arms around, forcing the water vapor in the air to conglomerate into a small sphere, which he separated into multiple smaller bullets and shot at the wolves on the outside ring.

Karl was thrown backwards into the grass by one of the larger wolves. As he fell something shiny and white, with a flash of red flew out of his coat pocket. Allin leaped over Moony to grab it, recognizing the airhorn form earlier. She picked it up and ran toward the middle of the clearing, shouting as loud as possible:

"Everybody cover your ears!"

* * *

Clarice looked up as the door to her small holding cell opened. In walked a tall redhead statue. His pale face was plastered with a cruel sneer, fluffy ears held dominantly forward and broken tail swaying behind. He was followed by three grimmwolves two were about the size of normal wolves but one was about the size of a housecat. Clarice decided to pull the cocky attitude and asked:

"Training the rookies, are we?"

To which the small wolf replied in a snarl:

"Stupid girl, I'm the wolf. I've caused the destructions of countless dimensions and-" It stopped speaking when Clarice started snickering.

"OK seriously, where's Big Bad?" She asked, not believing a word of the little wolf's speech.

"Did you not hear him?" the werewolf asked impatiently, "Or has old age caused you to become senile?"

"Hush, Lumin," Big Bad hissed, "She's toying with us."

"What did you do with Climber, you stupid dog?" Clarice yelled suddenly, angry that she couldn't help anyone. Now she knew how Climber felt about being useful.

"Fear not, Child," He said with a sickly crazed grin, " You'll see him again, although he may be in more pieces than you remember." The wolf laughed as he walked out of the room, closely followed by the others.

"I just hope the rest of them are safe." Clarice whispered.

* * *

_so, yeah. Where were we? Oh right, the airhorn thing._

Allin hit the top of the airhorn, forcing it permanently down. Everyone in her group had their ears covered; even Snake-Head and Metal-Pad had found a way to protect themselves. Not so much for the grimmwolves. They all let out sharp yelps of pain, several exploded, the rest fled. The werewolves were all cringing and still covering their ears, so Karl grabbed the airhorn from Allin, threw it on the ground and stepped on it as hard as possible, forcing what was left of the pressurized air out.

Allin grinned and leaned against Snake-Head's foreleg, tired from the fighting, constant scares, and walking around in the forest. Ace and Tidal gave each other a high-five, tails wagging. Moony's tail was wagging too, just not as excitedly. He was tired too, despite being a statue. Jackie went up and said something to Karl. Whatever it was, Allin didn't hear it because she slid down to the ground and was almost immediately asleep.

Arma flew over and perched on Snake-Head's shoulder. Aquis and Capri glanced over and saw Allin just sort of sitting there.

"Oh my." Capri said, shocked.

"Is she sick?" Aquis asked.

Karl and Jackie turned around, along with Mizuno, who had already started walking over. The werewolves grouped up near Metal-Pad, looking worried. Mizuno got down my Allin and looked directly at her. He raised a hand to her forehead, but the temp was normal, for a human anyways,

He looked up, "She's just asleep. It's a basic human need. And not surprising considering today's events."

The group released its collective breath in relief.

"That actually doesn't sound like a bad idea. We used a lot of energy today and we could use the rest." Karl chimed in, Walking over to sit beneath Arma.


	8. Chapter 8

Most of the group was asleep, or in some form of sleep. One of Snake-Head's heads was rose up out of the group, although it looked pretty tired. Arma had tucked a head under her wing, and sat next Karl. Everyone was pretty much relaxed. There was a problem though.

Aquis and Capri snored.

Moony flattened his ears against his head. How could a statue snore?! There were no lungs or anything that could force the air out. Tidal had told him that much about breathers.

"Aw god, I can't stand this." And from the sounds of things, Ace didn't like it that much either. The older werewolf bent to pick up a stone and lob it, when Tidal grabbed his wrist.

"Would you just calm it?", he whispered. Ace growled angrily, but dropped the stone anyway. Moony sighed, and then looked up. Something in the trees was glowing. Like a fire, or a light from a house. This was worth checking out.

He sat up, and stretched, his tail lazily flopping from side to side. _Thwack!_

"Hey!", came an indignant whisper. Moony spun round and came face to face with an annoyed Allin, rubbing her cheek. "Watch where you wave your tail."

"Sorry." By now Ace had seen the light, his unusually green eyes narrowing and glowing in the evening light. Allin looked surprised at this. Ace sighed, a low grumbling noise.

"Luminescent paint", he explained. "I got set in the lower parts of the maze." Tidal coughed and elbowed Moony, before grinning.

"Y'know, when this is over", the little werewolf stammered. "I could, er, show them to you, if you want."

"They're still standing?", said Allin, who thought everything in the park other than Castle had been demolished.

"The woods grew up round it. Makes quite a sight at night", said Tidal. "Full moon tomorrow too." A hand tapped his shoulder.

"That's quite enough romantic arrangements", said Karl. "Let's have some more 'finding out what the heck that light is' work."

"Fine, be that way", Tidal muttered.

The hydra stopped. About ten paces into the woods he simply froze. His tail reached round and curled round a red ball.

At the sound of whistling air, Mr D. turned round. Before being rugby tackled by Ace to avoid a plastic ball that closely missed where the smaller statue had been.

"What the heck are you doing?!", Metal-Pad snapped at Snake-Head, who looked really quite embarrassed. The armor listened for a while to the various hissing sounds, nodding at some times.

"Why did he do that?", Ace asked, sitting and pulling up the shorter statue after him, who was looking rather shell-shocked. Again.

"Apparently his target went off course", translated Metal-Pad. "But all he'll say about the original target is 'Look up'." Everyone complied.

"Oh dear", said Mizuno. "That is one big…thing." The shadow passed over, letting light back in through the branches. Two people were missing. Well, one of them was already hurrying ahead.

"This way! Arma's on it's tail!", Karl called.

"More running?", moaned Allin. "Can't we stop for a mo-whoa!" The head deposited her on Snake-Head's back, and gave a friendly hiss, before continued it's lopping gallop in the middle of the group.

"Erm, thanks." She looked back at where they'd left Aquis and Capri. And hoped they'd stay safe.

It took more than a few minutes of hard-core running before they'd reached the source of the light. Mr D. had also hitched a lift from Snake-Head, and both riders were feeling more than slightly shaken. Mizuno was on the verge of toppling over. Everyone else was 'alright', although Metal-Pad and the werewolves were panting.

"What…is that?", Mr D. asked, as a helpful snout nudged him off it's back. Ace raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"Well now. It seems the ol' ruins have come to life again. And not for a good reason this time."

They sneaked towards the entrance, but had to duck down a few times to avoid Grimmwolf sentries.

"Man, they really are packed in here, aren't they?", Allin whispered. "How do get a look inside?"

"I have a plan", Karl murmured.

* * *

The black bird looked very innocent, perched on top of the wall. The sentries paid no attention to it, thereby failing to notice it was perching on an unperchable part of the wall. And swaying slightly.

Snake-Head gave a high-pitched hiss that might have been a whine. Tidal patted his shoulder comfortingly, and sat next to him. Snake-Head's tallest head was held just above the wall, giving Arma a clear view of the courtyard. Karl leaned against the wall below her, listening.

"Three either side of the gate to our right….four at the entrance to our left and round the corner….five stationed around the wall", he quietly reported. "Ten are inside the ruins. The rest seem to be out of patrol."

"How does she know…that there are wolves inside?", Mr D. asked. Karl simply smiled and tapped his nose.

"That totals up to twelve", said Mizuno, ignoring the previous comment. "And according to our last meeting, which was ten Grimmwolves, which we defeated with an air-horn."

"Which is now unusable", added Allin, giving Karl a death glare while he whistled innocently.

"The odds of us getting through this alive are…roughly thirty percent."

"Less than half. Okay, that's just terrific." Karl suddenly looked up at Arma, who flew down, wheeled round twice, and flew back up.

"Arma says two things. One, the wolves apparently look half starved."

"That would be because the Big Bad is lacking in power", Metal-Pad stated. "He's been without proper Grimm energy for up to three years. This summoning has had to weaken him severely, and therefore create weaker drones."

"Which he's kept back here", Allin finished. "What else?"

"Two, a new wolf has arrived. It's covered in red tattoos."

"So it looks different", said Ace. "If these are weaker wolves they'll be a piece of cake to take out." He took off, closely followed by everyone else. Minus Karl and Arma, who came a few moments later.

"There's another thing", he called after them as they skidded round into the court, Mizuno and Snake-Head already taking out a pair of the guards. The red smoky wolf looked to them, and grinned. It was neatly larger than the tallest of the group, twice as wide, and glowing with fiery markings.

"Arma believes it can control fire", Karl finished. This was proven when the wolf opened it's mouth and unleashed a firestorm at the party.

* * *

The ground shook to it's foundations, and the roof above threatened to collapse. Clarice took this opportunity with both hands and, more literally, feet. She kicked at the door, and it crumbled, rotten wood splintering.

However, being old also makes things hurt easier. Clarice winced as she placed her foot back on the floor. Her back ached after that. When she was seventeen, these things were a whole lot more easy.

Turning back to the job at hand, she reached through her foot-sized hole, and pulled the handle off. The door swung open at a small push now, and she hurried off as best she could down the corridor.

"You think you can run, child?" The voice echoed around her, and the shadows seemed to shift all around. "It merely delays your fate, and his."

"What have you done to Climber?!", she shouted.

"I believe you need to see for yourself." A trail of torches suddenly lit up. Taking the hint, Clarice followed.

Was it just her, or had it gotten hotter down here?

* * *

"You tryin' ta mess with us?!" Allin looked up. She was burning, she certainly didn't feel like she was burning, but there the flames were, flickering up in front of her nose. Everyone else was wearing the same confused expression, as the fire backed away.

"Mizuno?" The fish boy was just as surprised. The saving source came from somewhere to the side, where he'd sprinted over from the wolf he'd just dissapated.

Ace, standing firm with glowing orange hands held high, grunted angrily as he pushed the fire away.

"H-How?", Moony stammered. Ace grinned.

"I told you little bro. I'd do anything for you." He twisted his head to look back. "Miz-kid. You got water juju, right?"

"Yes."

"How 'bout using some? Tidal?" The blue-toned werewolf nodded, smiling. To Mizuno's surprise some of his water bubbles spiralled over to Tidal. Karl joined the fighters side.

"You first", he said. "I insist."

"Much appreciated", replied Ace.

Allin meanwhile, was a little distracted by the fact that a pair of _statues_ could control the bloody _elements_.

So much so that she didn't notice the shadows creeping up on her.


	9. Chapter 9

Allin screeched loud enough to wake the flippin' dead when she felt something cold and clawed grabbed her shoulders. All of the wolves' and Mizuno's ears fell flat in some attempt to protect their sensitive eardrums. Even Snake-Head and Arma looked mildly downtrodden.

Allin grabbed one of the broken iron supports to the building, whipped around, and cracked it over whatever counted as a head. She backed away very quickly, whimpering a bit. It looked dazed, but had the same gooey grin as the rest of the sentries.

Whatever it was it was big, about the same size as the fire wolf. Only this time it had glowing iblue/i tattoos and it walked on eight legs. Like a spider. Hmm, Grimmspider, cruel irony at its worst. It let out a horrid rasping noise and took a few small steps forward.

"Teehee, look at the victims, trying to save their friends." It said very clearly in a high-pitched girl's voice. It looked at the wolves. "Oh hello, doggies. I don't suppose you'd remember me from the maze. I wasn't in your alcove, after all."

"Thank god," Ace muttered.

"Samantha, please. You used to be so nice." Metal-Pad sighed. Allin looked at Jackie, but he only shrugged. The statues' conversation was continuing, but things were flying south quickly. Tidal turned one of his water orbs into a spear, and threw it full force at the spider. That sucker had some kickass reaction speed, because the spear only hit the joint at one of its legs. It hissed and charged at Tidal, who leaped out of the way. Snake-Head arched down no less than three of his heads to grab the bug's legs. He then proceeded to slam it into the wall. Slowly the Grimm energy leaked away, snaking to a further part of the ruins. The statue left behind was not going to be a part of the land of the living ever again, that was clear enough. Metal-Pad sighed, "I hoped it wouldn't come to this. Oh well, let's see if we can't find the source of this trouble." He said, walking forward.

* * *

Big Bad smiled, having received the defeated energy from the spider and the firewolf. He reached out to touch the fabric of the dimensions, cutting small rips in them.

Soon… soon he would take over this pathetic universe, and whoever lived in it.

* * *

Clarice walked further down the hall. The pain in her back had faded to a mere annoyance now, but finding Climber was more important. And besides, something had screeched to kill the reawakened dead. She was looking inside every room she passed, hoping to find him. Clarice stopped to listen. Whatever was happening had stopped and things had faded from very hot to winter-like temperatures. She grabbed a torch off the wall. Right when she pulled it out of the bracket almost every other torch in the ruins went dim. She heard a yell from the very back of the ruins, and hurried in that direction.

* * *

"Did it get darker in here, or is it just me?" Mizuno asked to no one in particular. He saw Allin squinting.

"I th-think so," She said. She looked up at the werewolves'. Their eyes were glowing like little flashlights in a fluorescent green color. She shivered; the temperature was low enough that her breath was turning onto steam. She giggled and exhaled again, watching the water vapor fade away.

"Heh, check it out, I'm a dragon," She snickered, breathing out again. Moony turned to her, eyes bright. She exhaled in that direction, watching her breath glow bright green. Moony smiled at her, But Metal-Pad huffed angrily, "This is no time to be making jokes. We are on a mission." Allin glanced at him irritably, but stopped trying to make her breath appear. Slowly they wandered forward, but upon hearing someone scream, near the back of the building, they hurried up.


	10. Chapter 10

The pain. It was excruciating. It ebbed out of his missing arms and through the hole in his lower body. In front of him, the cause of his pain leered, steadily growing larger.

"Kingdom Hearts", it murmured, grinning. "The Dark Signers. Black holes. Orochi. Black Ace." He let out a gurgling laugh, and looked to the struggling figure, pinned to a tall pole.

"Soon, little piglet", it laughed. "Soon, you and this pathetic world will be mine."

"H-How could you?!", came the defiant reply. "I-It's Christmas after all."

"Exactly. Broken dreams. Shattered wishes. The sorrow of those with nothing at all. Soon I will gorge on it, and I will be invincible."

"W-Well…..you certainly are larger than before." Then a tendril savaged his leg, and he let out another yell.

* * *

Snake-Head let out a wheezing whimper, closing it's mouths over the tubes, giving each head a look of grimacing fear. Jackie gently patted him, frowning.

"Somethings…not right here." Another scream, closer this time. Ace huffed.

"Aw boy, why is it always stupid dark rooms?" Tidal looked, and whimpered.

"D-Do we have to go down there?"

"You want to help save this world?"

"Mhm", Tidal mumbled, nodding.

"Then pull yourself together, please." The redhead rolled his eyes and clicked. Small flames appeared, bright enough to light up room ahead. Karl raised an eyebrow.

"Will-o-wisps?"

"That fire wolf drained most of my energy", Ace snapped. "This is the best I can do whilst restoring it." The blonde shrugged flippantly.

"Fair 'nough." Moony giggled a little, grabbing both the older's attention.

"I'd swear you two were related", he sniggered. Allin cupped a hand over her mouth, shaking with laughter. She received a little slap over the head.

"Focus. Please", said Metal-Pad sharply. As the armor began to wander round the chamber, Moony stuck his tongue out at his back. "And behave yourself, Moon." The young werewolf blanched, then exchanged looks with Allin. She quickly mouthed 'No idea', before both dashed to catch up with the werewolves, who were investigating some broken down pictures. Tidal smirked, and elbowed Ace.

"Looks like Moons got a little girlfriend", he whispered, loudly.

"Have not", Moony hissed.

"Shush!", Mizuno snapped from nearby. All went quiet.

Then footsteps to their left. A will-o-wisp slid swiftly past them, revealing a side corridor. There was a click as Snake-Head's mouths opened again.

And someone too familiar stepped out into the chamber.

"GRANDMA!"

"CLARICE!"

"ALLIN! GUYS!" A chorus of joyful shouts echoed round the chamber, as Clarice and Allin smashed together in a large family hug, before being quickly joined by an excited Karl. Jackie hopped to them smiling, but didn't join in.

"Omigosh I was so worried", Allin babbled.

"I should be saying the same thing about you, young lady", Clarice replied. "Now then. What on earth are you doing here?!" The sudden mood swing took everyone by surprise.

"Um. Coming to help you. The guys suggested it."

"I didn't need any help and _where are you going?!_" Karl stopped his sneaky retreat, frozen in mid-step. Arma face-winged. Clarice sighed.

"Well, at least you can escort my grand-daughter back to the cottage", she said.

"But why?" Moony stepped forward.

"Because she's too young to deal with things like this."

"Seriously? She's done a pretty good job as far as I've seen", the werewolf insisted. Ace stepped forward.

"For a breather, she's got a great statue's talent. The airhorn trick was pretty good."

"A good team-worker", Metal-Pad added. "Done better than any of my pack."

"SSSSSsssSSssS." Snake-Head nodded, eyes in an upside down V. Clarice frowned.

"Snake-Head concurs", the armor translated.

"And do you think that'll be enough to persuade me?"

"Yes." Karl had one hand on Allin's shoulder. His smile was gentle. Clarice sighed, and smiled as well.

"Guess I'm out-voted then."

"Little piglets!" The voice seemed to boom and crawl up the spines of all present just then. Moony squeaked, and Tidal hid in a large pot nearby. Ace face-palmed himself. Allin yelped and Clarice looked deadly serious.

"Come out, Big Bad!", she shouted. "We're not afraid of you."

"Yes we are."

"Tidal", Ace growled. "Just bluff it for now." Eerie laughter filled the chamber.

"Ahh, but I can smell your fear." Grimmwolves flocked into the room, followed by the alternating Grimmstatues; carousel horses, camels, wolf-headed knights and similarly fashioned steeds, a manically laughing, oozy robot, a towering twelve-headed monster. All blocked every exit but one.

"Okay, this is really bad", Moony summed up what everyone else thought.

Urged on by the snapping and grinning Grimms around them, the group walked into the next chamber. Stood in the center, already ten times the size Clarice had seen it, was Big Bad, Lumin standing proudly at his feet, eyes full of mad glee.

"And now you see before you, the next rulers of this world", said Lumin. If it were possible then spittle would have been sprayed from his lips.

"Hang on", said Mizuno. "Did you just say rulers? As in plural?" The insane werewolf cackled.

"Oh yes. The Shadow Wolf and I have already planned our places in this world. This place will be MINE!"

"Not on our watch!", Clarice shouted. Lumin smirked.

"Purlease. An old lady, a little breather, a fish boy." Mizuno glared at this comment. "And a group of broken, old statues? You're better off as Grimm-food. Besides, we have this." A flag-pole nearby turned round.

Climber, minus arms and a lot of stuffing, hung from the pole, with a tendril stuck through his stomach.

"Climber!" Never before had Allin heard her grandmother shout in such a voice. It was impossible to describe with all the anger, fear and sorrow cast into it. The Big Bad howled in delight, and released the mannequin. He collapsed on the ground, and Clarice hurried to him.

"That's right", the wolf sneered. "Let loose all that suffering, so that I may grow stronger." Lumin laughed crazily.

"Soon, we will be invincible!", he crowed.

"You're mad" Ace growled. "Absolutely and utterly mad. I'm glad we ran when we had the chance!"

"And that was your mistake boy!" Lumin turned to face the Big Bad. "I'm ready. Give me your power."

"Indeed I will." Black smoke appeared round Lumin, who laughed. But the laughter slowly died away, as he saw the blackness covered his arms.

"What-What's happening?!", he protested.

"You're giving me power", the Big Bad replied innocently. "And changing into a simple Grimm."

"No. Nooooooooo!", the werewolf howled, as the black goop smothered him. The mouth changed to a gooey maw, the eyes paled, and the Grimmwolf whimpered and ran out of the chamber.

The group watched in horror, as Big Bad bulged, grew, and threw out his tendrils. The rips became tears, became huge holes, as he reached out to suck the darkness from so many different worlds. One tendril actually vanished with a crashing sound that shook the ground.

"What's happening?!", Allin shouted, grabbing onto Moony. The werewolf was speechless.

"I think-I think he just broke the fourth wall", Tidal stammered. The Big Bad frowned now, as the fourth wall tendril shook and began to retract.

"What is this?!", he roared. Two figures spilled out of the hole and flew straight into Big Bad. He roared angrily and threw them onto the floor. The smaller looked up, shook it's head, and stared. Then squealed.

"HOLYSHITIT'SKARLANDCO!"

* * *

**Boston, 5:17pm. Otakon**

"Aw damn it, I'll never meet someone I recognize at this rate." The girl adjusted the lopsided hat on her head, knowing she should've made the horns smaller.

It still felt kinda awkward, posing as her own character. But still, she could see several OCs being cosplayed. Although one looked slightly plain. But she still stuck out.

Black tracksuits, black top, oddly coloured satchel, grey and red trainers.

Wolfen's OC.

I spotted the hat first. Green with horns. Then that sorta spiraled down to the white polo neck shirt and green and black trackies. '_Isn't that Dragon's character?_' I thought. '_Allin?_'

"Hey!" She was calling and waving. I grinned, and hurried over. "You Wolfen?"

"Sure am", I replied, feeling a little awkward. "I was wondering when I was going to meet someone I recognized."

"Same." We started walking in a randomly chosen direction. Finally, we ended up at the fountain I'd noticed outside the building.

"Wow, nice day isn't it." Dragon raised an eyebrow.

"You being sarcastic?"

"No. I like this weather." True, it was cloudy, and looking like it'd rain at any minute, but then again it was April. What could you do?

Then the ground trembled.

Wolfen's face went white.

"I-Is this normal?", she stammered. Being an English kid probably meant she didn't experience things like this. They got off kinda lightly over there. But seriously, earthquakes?!

"Er, no", I replied, just as shakily. The earth jerked open, and dark tendrils flew out. Everyone panicked, and started running. Yeah, we got caught right in the middle. Wolfen frowned, and reached out to touch one of the tendrils.

"Are you nuts?!", I shouted. She blatantly ignored me, and her fingers brushed it. The tendril changed course, slamming down towards the ground. And us!

"Duck and roll! Duck and roll!" We did. But the shadowy tentacle still grabbed us round the waist.

"Oh crudbuckets", I heard Wolfen mutter, before being pulled into the ground. I could see the crack closing above our heads. Then it was darkness, silence, and the furious breeze that indicated our movement.

My mum was never going to believe why I was late.

"This isn't good", came quietly from my right.

"Will you shut up, you dragged us into this mess!", I shouted.

"…I see another light!" True, there was this glowing red light up ahead like fire. Well, more behind us since we were being dragged backwards toward it.

I felt odd. Bigger. And my back felt funny.

Then we were out through the portal thingygummy, and smashing on top of something big and black and kinda soft. Wolfen had shrunk, I was sure of it. There was a really angry roar, like a pissed off dog, as we slid down to the floor. I looked at one of my claws. Ew, ectoplasm.

And in front of us was a group we all recognized. It was weird because I gaped, seeing as I was staring at them upside down, while Wolfen babbled out the names in simple astonishment. Then Climber spoke up.

"How did Big Bad just yank a dragon statue and a partly mechanical werewolf out of another world?" Hang on. Claws!

We stopped. Stared at each other. And freaked.

* * *

The green dragon with the broken horn let out a scared wail, and flailed in panic. The wolf-girl went somersaulting overhead, and landed on the Big Bad.

"Oh. Hi!", she said. It roared for a third time and shook itself. This time, she landed on Snake-Head. The robotic left eye shrank slightly, and she pulled herself up, wheezing.

"_Never land on something stomach first_. Dragon! You okay?", she called over to where the dragon was running round in circles, trying to get a glimpse of it's tail and repeating over and over again, "I'madragonI'madragonI'madragon." The wolf-girl sighed, tapped on the dragon's neck. She stopped, then looked properly round the room.

Big Bad growled. Both girls bolted to hide behind the group.

"Can someone explain who you are and where you came from?", said Metal-Pad.

"We're from behind the fourth wall", the dragon started.

"Just a couple of artists and writers", the wolf added.

"No idea what the hell just happened."

"Or why BB decided to open up a dark hole in Boston!"

"What's Boston?", Mizuno asked. The dragon sighed.

"How about we stop the awkward conversations and get on with kicking Big Bad's butt?", Karl suggested.

"I'm in!", the wolf-girl cheered. Big Bad laughed.

"The little piglets want to play? Not all of you though, it wouldn't be fair." A rip in the floor appeared, and dark smoke shot out, splitting up the group into two. Metal-Pad, Jackie, Climber, Clarice and Mizuno were trapped. That left one team still standing.

"Does this mean we have to fight?", the wolf-girl asked. The dragon heaved up Climber's pick-axe, and handed it over, although it thudded to the ground moments later, while the metal werewolf tried to pick it up again.

"Y'think?" She looked over to the Castle team. "I'm Dragon, short for DragonsHave2Hearts."

"They do?", said Moony.

"It's a title. And yes it's true", said Dragon. "Metal werewolf is Wolfen. Are you sure you can handle that pick-axe?"

"Erm. No." A set of spikes shot out of the right hand and tail. "But I think this'll be helpful."

"Okay", said Karl. "Two crazy fourth wall girls, a trio of werewolves, a seven year-old and myself and Arma……this should be fun!"

"Oh boy. Karl's in cheery mode", muttered Dragon, while Wolfen went all shiny-eyed. "And concentrate will you!"

"Fine. Let's get serious."


	11. Chapter 11

Our group braced themselves for the fight. Dragon whipped her tail angrily from side to side. Wolfen and the werewolves crouched low and growled. Karl and Arma stood en guard, Arma being a notched scimitar. Allin picked up Climber's dropped pickaxe. Big Bad looked at them with an amused sneer.

"**So you think you can face me and win, piglets?"** he taunted, causing the smokescreen between the groups to flare.

"Uhh, not really, but we sure as hell ain't going down without a fight!" Dragon called.

"Nice confidence boost…" Wolfen muttered.

"Really? I was just being cocky," Dragon said.

"_Duh_."

"**Enough of this, 'small talk',"** Big Bad roared in annoyance, sending a tendril straight towards the girls. Dragon yelped and leaped out of the way, Allin clung to her tail like her life depended on it (which it sort of did). Wolfen crouched further and streaked towards the now massive Grimmwolf.

Karl combined the moves, he jumped off of Dragon's back, getting a bit of the height advantage to use against the wolf. He fell fast landing directly on the freak's back. Big Bad thrashed, trying to be rid of his annoyance. Karl sprinted for the head and began attempting to hack away at the congealed grimm.

Dragon breathed deep, nudging Allin on her back. The seven-year-old was climbing using the joints on Dragon's wing.

"Ever ridden a dragon before?" She asked. Allin shook her head. "Well, I suggest you hold tight then." Dragon leaped to the Big Bad, aiming for the vulnerable stomach, the werewolves followed, only to leap out of the way when a large green torpedo came flying back at them. Whatever Big Bad was using to defend his stomach was powerful magic, to send a statue of that size and weight flying.

Dragon grabbed Allin by the collar and set her safely between her forelegs, folding a wing around them both. The hit the wall hard, but Allin was mostly protected. Not so much Dragon. She was missing her left wing and a small part of her spine. Nevertheless they both got up and jumped right back into the fray.

* * *

The other team, however, was trying their best to escape the small prison. Metal-Pad and Snake-Head dug at the bottom edge of the wall, leaping back when the energy shield flared. Clarice and Jackie were looking for Climber's missing arms. They were both on opposite sides of the cell, so when Jackie let out a small exclamation, Clarice came rushing over. Both of the unattached limbs were rather worse for wear, ripped in several places, but the rest of the stuffing looked safe to use though.

Grabbing as much as physically possible, they both hurried back to where Climber lay. He must have passed out because he wasn't moving, his eyes were shut and what little breathing possible was short, quiet and raspy. Clarice reached into her sweater pocket, pulling out black industrial thread and a needle. Deftly stringing the thread, she began to sew. Mizuno walked over to help, cutting the tough thread with a quick swipe of a water dagger. It was slow going, and as the time passed, Climber's breathing got quieter and quieter. By the time they finished, there was no sound to be heard whatsoever, except for the sounds of the fight and the statues' relentless digging.

* * *

The fight was going very badly for the fighting group, everyone was tiring out and Big Bad was somehow still absorbing energy despite having the dimensional tendrils cut off. _All_ of the fighters had sustained damage, however. Big bad was now missing an ear and most of his front legs and tail. The fighters were covered in multiple dings, bumps, chips, and scratches. They still put whatever effort they could into the fight, but were gradually being pushed back.

"**Haaaa, tiring little piglets?**" He asked in a overconfident sneer, "**You should have given up when you had the chance!**"

"You stupid dogbreath freak," Dragon said with a shudder, "I already said, if we go down, were taking you with us!"

She and Allin hissed at the same time, surprising the werewolves and Karl with the animalistic behavior. They charged recklessly at the wolf, contacting the face squarely with claws and pickaxe.

"Dragon, no!" Wolfen yelled, at the same time as Karl and the trio screamed:

"Allin, don't!"

It didn't matter much, as they wouldn't have listened anyways. Allin's pickaxe caught Big Bad in the eye, and he yelled, causing Dragon's claws to catch on his teeth. The weight dragged His jawbone down and one could hear a loud crack, as though bone was breaking. Karl, Ace and Tidal took their chance, hurling spears made of their respective elements (and Arma) down Big Bad's throat. He started gurgling sickly and coughing up what looked like molten onyx. It hissed when it hit the floor, burning away huge holes through rock and steel.

Dragon and Allin staggered away from the mess, finally coming to rest on one of the larger fallen stones. Both had burns, though Allin's were not so severe. Dragon panted and laid her head down in the cool floor, shivering from severe energy loss. She kept her eyes open, on lookout for any lingering danger.

She needn't have worried; Big Bad was as good as dead. The other statues gathered around the small puddle he had started to form, looking on with disdain. Big Bad started laughing manically. Dragon twitched an ear up, trying to catch what he would say. That was a bad move because what he said was not pretty.

"**Celebrate if you wish, just know that it will be short-lived**," He sneered.

"Why is that?" Ace asked, placing his hands on his hips indignantly.

"**Because, I have taken one of you down with me.**" Those were his last words as the rest of his corrupted soul melted into a puddle on the floor. In the other room they could hear the other statues awakening, released from their hold. The wall of smoke in the middle of the room faded away, allowing another sound through.

The sound of tortured crying.


	12. Chapter 12

"He didn't", said Allin. "Please say he didn't." Nobody looked the girl in the eye. Clarice continued to sob, crouched beside the inanimate mannequin. The eyes were open, but they weren't eyes anymore. Just paintings.

As one, the werewolves lifted their heads and howled, joined by a hollow boom from Metal-Pad and a shaking hiss from Snake-Head.

"That-That bastard", Dragon stammered, shaking with anger and sadness. "He had to take him. He had to! WHY?!" Allin burst into tears. Karl simply looked sorry. His ever present smile had vanished. Mizuno's face was hidden, but judging by the shaking shoulders, he was crying as well. Wolfen glowered at her feet. Then with an animalistic howl, she smashed a standing pot.

"When I find that fur-ball, he is toast!", she snapped. Her mechanical eye had turned a violent purple.

"A-And it was Christmas too", Allin sobbed. One metal ear perked at this.

"Wait. Christmas? THAT'S IT!"

"What's it?", Tidal asked, confused by the sudden triumph in the girl's voice.

"Hello! Christmas. The greatest day of the year! Wishes come true and all that mush. Wish upon a star. Wishes!!!" She turned to Clarice. "When we're done you're gonna get one heck of a present, miss."

There was still a puddle of black goop in the center of the floor. Wolfen poked it and whistled.

"Thought as much. Gone crawling to the darkness to regenerate and grow again. Nice one with the jaw bone, by the way, Katie." Dragon grinned.

"It's amazing what you can learn from movies."

"What're."

"Explain later, Moony." Tidal absentmindedly wandered up to Wolfen, who was busy tying a rope round her waist.

"Erm, if we survive this, could we meet up afterward-"

"I'm not interested, Tide. Stop being a lover boy."

"Why do you have to be the one to go alone?", Dragon asked.

"Is there anyone else here who has experience at going through dark portals?"

"But weren't those just in your stories?" One eyebrow went up, and a cocky smile appeared.

"Very well. But only two. Since you're so eager, Kates, you're in."

"Oh yay", came the sarcastic reply.

"Anyone else?"

"I'll come." Wolfen looked surprised, and her right eye twitched.

"Are you serious, Allin?" The girl looked determined. The fourth wallers knew that determination from elsewhere. From a person when she'd been younger.

"Okidokes." The rope switched positions to Dragon's right hind leg, and the girls clung tightly to her spine.

"Are you sure this is safe?", Ace called from below. Wolfen grinned.

"Of course. Done it dozens of times."

"Diving into a puddle of shadow on the back of a dragon statue?" Awkward pause. Dragon chuckled, then leapt forward, landing in the dark pool.

"!", Wolfen quickly shouted before they vanished beneath the surface. The chamber was filled with an eerie silence, broken only by the sound of the rope unfolding, and the sound of Karl pacing up and down.

"…..Has anyone seen Arma?"

* * *

Unbeknownst to them, white eyes glared in the darkness.

_My lord turned me into this, because of them. They did this. They changed me into this creature. Now, I may have my revenge._

Shadow tendrils began to snake along the floor.

-------------------

Allin groaned, and opened one eye. She was still clinging onto Dragon's back with all her might. Wolfen sat up ahead, looking a little pale.

"Or maybe it was holding your nose", she murmured. "I could never remember."

"So, this is it?", Dragon asked, paddling in the darkness.

"Pretty much, yes."

"It's dark", said Allin. "Really, really dark."

"Don't be scared", Wolfen muttered. "That'll help feed him, it, whatever."

"Which way?"

"Follow your nose." There came a rumble of chuckles from the dragon, and she began to swim through the blackness.

"Actually, you're right", said Allin. "I can smell burning. And other things." With a quiet thump they landed on something solid.

"Let's keep moving", Dragon voiced everyone's thoughts, and continued in her previous direction. As they walked, things began to drift through the air alongside them.

"What is all this stuff?", Allin asked. "Toys?"

"Christmas also has it's negatives", explained Wolfen. "These'll be the lost presents that children wanted but never received. Now it's using that sorrow to power himself up more."

"That would explain the almost unbeatable-ness." Whispers filled the air. White eyes appeared, and a single Grimmwolf stepped out, growling. Wolfen snarled in return, and it fled.

"We should bear left", Allin said suddenly. "The burnt toast smell's coming from there."

"And I see a fire!", added Dragon. "Something's burning there."

Strapped to a chair, a figure struggled against his bonds as the fire licked around him. The person was partially translucent, but everyone was able to see him.

"Climber!" Dragon suddenly stopped.

"I've run out of rope. Now?"

"Not yet. It's too early." Pushing off, the two riders swam through the shadows to land beside Climber. His eyes were open with fright, and he was mouthing desperately.

"Why can't he talk?", Allin asked.

"This is just his energy, not his total self. And it's not even complete." Wolfen looked round. "There's gotta be something that's keeping him incomplete."

"If we figure it out, maybe he'll be back to normal." Climber's energy figure began repeating something, over and over. Dragon frowned, trying to lip-read the words.

"C…Cl….Cl something", she muttered.

**Naughty, naughty piglets**

Two massive eyes and a grin appeared, hanging in the air.

"Cla….Clari…."

**It's not fair to do things like this. Still, this is my territory now**

"Y'think?", said Allin defiantly. "Still, you're being rather hypocritical." Tendrils of shadow began to slam towards them, hitting them every few seconds. It's always hard to dodge black things in a black arena.

"Claric….Clarice!", Dragon said finally. The Climber spirit nodded frantically, grinning. His body solidified a little, and he began a new word, easier to understand.

"Da…Dan.."

**Try all you like, you will return alive from here**, the Big Bad taunted.

All around the presents began to evaporate into wisps of shadow.

**Soon I **_**WILL**_** defeat you, once and for all.**

"I'd like to see you try." A red eye blinked in the white. Causing the Big Bad to roar in anger, Arma swooped right out of his mouth, to land on Allin's shoulder. To her surprise, a female voice echoed in her mind.

_"Are you ready?"_

"To fight?"

"Dan…Dance?"

_"To dance."_

"Dance!" Dragon looked round and grabbed a floating stereo. A CD booklet drifted by, to be nabbed by Wolfen, dodging a tendril. A CD slotted in, and the music burst into life.

_If it hadn't been for Cotton Eyed Joe, I'd been married a long time ago_

_Where did you come from, where did you go._

_Where did you come from, Cotton Eyed Joe_

Wolfen wooped, along with a silent cheer from a fully solid Climber spirit.

"Boogie time!"

"Let's get wishing!" Dragon pulled on the rope.

---------------

Ace slammed a paw into the ground. A wall of fire burst out of a long crack, splitting the hall in two. The nearest Grimmwolves got incinerated.

"Well, that should keep them occupied for now", he muttered, dusting his paws off. Then he saw the rope twist and jerk.

"They've found it!", he shouted. "Moony! Give it a shot!" The young werewolf nodded. A rampage of plastic balls, courtesy of Snake-Head, cracked open the ceiling, releasing a shower of rocks onto the Grimm attackers. Moony's hands began sparkling and he threw them up. Pure white light shot in sparks out of them, sparkling in the heavens above, and flying onward.

"Wish upon a star", Clarice murmured. "Wish for him to return." The group all stopped, and looked up at the shooting stars.

-----------------

Down below, a fierce wind began to blow. Allin ducked from Dragon's tail flicking with the beat, and looked up.

"What's happening now?!", she yelled.

"The wishes, that's what!", Wolfen shouted in return, pulling a quick spin away from the thrashing wolf. He was groaning, flailing out.

Although the ground stayed beneath them, they seemed to fly upwards. A dot of light appeared overhead, and as it grew stronger, so the Big Bad seemed to fade. All around the white shapes of children faded into view, creating a shining tunnel around them. Finally, it grew to such a strength that it blinded them all with whiteness.

"….Allin. Wake up….come ooooon, wake up." She groaned.

"Not now, mum, it's Christmas."

"Oh great, she's really out of it."

"Wait, I got something that might help!" At first, there was a small hissing noise, which made Allin's nose itch. However, the following blare made Allin shoot up, wide awake. Karl, Tidal and Dragon were laughing loudly, while Wolfen proudly flicked the air-horn in the air before slotting it back in her satchel.

"Sorry 'bout the fact you're going to be smelling of white musk for the next half hour", she apologized, as Moony pulled Allin to her feet. "Canisters seem the same when you're rooting around in a satchel."

"I can't believe you still had that bag around with you all the time", said Dragon, grinning. Wolfen's ears flopped sideways.

"Well, er, I hid it behind a pillar for safe keeping and."

"You lost it and Mizuno found it again. In a hole."

"He's gone?", asked Allin. "The Big Bad?"

"Oh yes, you've done it this time, kiddo", said Karl, cheerily. "Your grannie's pretty happy with you, because of what you did." Indeed, Clarice was sitting with a rather dazed Climber, and they both waved when they saw Allin.

"Erm, th-thank you", said Climber.

"Think nothing of it", Allin replied. "It's what friends do." Arma flew over to perch on her shoulder again. "And well done to you too, Arma."

"_I seriously don't want to go through that again. That wolf needed some breath mints_."

"I knew it!", cheered Dragon. Tidal looked confused.

"And Allin", said Clarice. "You're still grounded."

"But-"

"However, I believe there are a few guests here." Clarice held out a hand. "Care to find the meaning of Christmas?" Ace scratched behind one of his ears, a little uncomfortable.

"Er…….heck, why not. We need a break." Tidal and Moony cheered, while Snake-Head actually let out a crow. Metal-Pad simply watched, although the crooked mouth was twisted up in a smile.

"And you three are welcome to join as well", Climber added. Wolfen, Dragon and Mizuno looked up sharply.

"Serious?!"

"Of course."

"OH YEAH!" As the group filed out of the cavern, Tidal hurried over to Arma. Glancing at Moony and Allin, he began to whisper something to the crow. Arma looked over to the targets, then nodded. Tidal grinned, and punched the air.

_"That's two already. First Karl, then this. Sheesh._"


	13. Chapter 13

The group wandered cautiously out of the ruins, avoiding shadows and most of the recently freed statues. When they got outside, the bright light of a new day was there to greet them, causing most of them to cover their eyes and duck their heads.

"Eeeyipe," Dragon groaned, folding her remaining wing over the group to protect their eyes. "And I thought school was bad."

"School?" Allin and Clarice asked doubtfully, giving her 'The Look'.

"Yeah, crayons and book reports," She bobbed her head a bit, "Isn't that what school's about?"

Allin looked at her grandma, "She hit the nail on the head."

"That not really what you learn in school at your age, is it?" Wolfen asked.

"Tch, no. We're forced to read Charles Dickens books, and other things nobody cares about."

"Charles Who?" Climber asked.

"Exactly."

They continued walking back towards the cottage, following their old footprints in the snow. When they got back to the cottage, they saw someone had been very busy piling snow in front of it. This was an easy problem to solve, as all Snake-Head had to do was push the snow out of the way, but the problem remained of what to do with the snow. The logical thing to do would be having the hydra flatten it down around the house, but that would have led to a boring ending. Dragon and Wolfen pulled the illogical, pelting both Karl and Tidal with snowballs. This led to a confrontation. Wolfen and Tidal kept throwing snow at each other, while Dragon taunted Karl. The adults and Mizuno snuck inside the house.

Karl got mad relatively fast, and threw a chunk of ice in Dragon's direction. She yelped and ducked it, sprinting around the corner of the house. He followed but when he got to where she should have been, nothing was there. He sighed angrily and walked around the rest of the house, dodging wayward snow from the other fight. He turned when Allin and Snake-Head started laughing, stopping in front of the spot on the house where the fireplace was inside. He ended up getting beamed by Dragon's tail, which was swinging side to side. She had gotten herself stuck in the chimney.

"Oh if this isn't sweet irony, then I don't know what is," Karl crowed, drawing attention.

Dragon froze in the chimney, getting most of her head in the fireplace. She had been very quiet about slinking down the narrow tunnel, but perhaps decking an angry pirate was not the best way to be inconspicuous. The adults hadn't seemed to notice, though Mizuno's ears had twitched one or two times.

Dragon forced all of her head into the small fireplace, trying to see what was going on outside. The adults were standing in front of the window, blocking most of the view. Someone had set Jackie on the counter and Mizuno was leaning on the windowsill. Metal-Pad was leaning on the edge of the counter looking curiously out the window, observing his pack. Clarice had her hand around Climber's waist, pulling him close. He didn't seem at all abashed by this and put his hand on Clarice's shoulder. They started talking quietly to each other. Dragon flipped her ears forward. Uncomfortable, but necessary to hear the conversation.

" Remember when we'd spend our winters like that?" Clarice asked thoughtfully.

"Yeah, you and Karl always won." He responded with a slight cringe.

"True, but remember the first year you guys got into a snowball fight?"

Climber was silent for a moment, remembering back to about forty years ago. There was a yell from outside.

"That was the year you visited, wasn't it? I think that was the only year Karl lost."

Clarice laughed quietly, but Climber continued, "That was also the year you taught me what mistletoe was."

Dragon bit her tongue to keep from laughing. She kept her ears perked.

"That's the part I remember," She said mischievously, leaning up to peck him on the side of the face. Mizuno, Metal-Pad, and Mr. Derippe became very interested with whatever was going on outside. Which wasn't much, everyone had wandered to the chimney side of the house.

Dragon, however, broke the small moment by yelling, "Get a room!" If they didn't notice her before, they certainly saw now. "Crudscones" She muttered, not one to like the spotlight much. She felt something grab her tail. "Double crudscones." Whatever had her tail pulled hard on it, forcing her to go the wrong way up the chimney. When she was outside, she saw Snake-Head had the end of her tail in his mouth. She flailed a bit, trying to get free. Karl quickly climbed the hydra's long neck to get on the cottage roof. He stood still for a moment, swaying slightly.

"Height problems, Karl?" Wolfen asked, standing in the snow.

" That's not the problem at all," He called back. He was lying, of course.

Snake-Head hissed, growing tired of holding the flailing dragon. He reached another head up to the roof and pushed Karl forward.

"Stop rushing me, I'm being dramatic."

Dragon snickered, finally giving up with the flailing.

"What's so funny?" Karl asked suspiciously. Dragon stuck her tongue out and bit it to keep from laughing. Karl continued to glare.

"Are you suggesting that coconuts migrate?" Dragon belted out, and started laughing uncontrollably.

"What the hell?" Karl, Ace, and Tidal asked at the same time. Even Snake-Head looked confused.

"Oooh, oooh I know that one!" Allin started jumping in the snow excitedly.

"What is it?" Moony asked.

"That's ummm," She paused," The Holy Grail!"

"She gets it," Wolfen said. Up above Dragon had started to calm down. Before Allin started quoting her way through the fight with the Black Knight with Wolfen.

They kept belting out lines over Moons' head, causing him to look even more confused.

"A scratch? Your arms off!" Wolfen laughed.

"I've had worse," Allin replied.

"LIAR!" Dragon flared from where she was still hanging, causing Karl to leap back and Snake-Head to let go. "Crap!" Dragon yelled as she fell. She hit the snowy ground headfirst with a loud crack.

"Oh my god!" Wolfen yelped, "Are you okay?"

Dragon lifted herself of the ground, well, most of herself. "Did you get taller?" She asked, looking up at the stunned statues and traumatized seven-year-old. Wolfen shook her head. Dragon' body sat down. "Why are you all the way up-CRAP!" The body stood up and thrashed its tail. Dragon looked over at it. "Hey! I'm over here idiot!"

The adults were still watching outside, but it had quieted down.

"What's going on out there?" Mizuno asked, leaning close to the window and looking out. The loud yelp of 'LIAR!' made them all jump and head to the door. They grouped outside, but all they could see was Snake-Head's tail in the snow, so they followed it around to the other little gathering.

"What happened here?" Clarice asked sternly, giving them all disapproving looks.


	14. Chapter 14

The group looked back, instantly putting on faces of innocence. Well, almost all of them. Dragon's head had landed facing the other way, so she kept snapping angrily at her lost and confused body.

"We were just messing round", said Ace. Clarice gave him the 'Look'. The one a parent does when they find a child eating chocolate cake they're not supposed to. Ace cringed under its power.

"He started it", said Allin, quickly pointing.

"Hey!", complained Karl. "It was Dragon-girl that pelted me first!"

"I was aiming at someone else", came a disgruntled reply. "Now someone help me with this." Rolling her eyes, Wolfen rummaged in her bag and pulled out a tube of glue. As she set to work on Dragon's head, with Tidal asking, "How much stuff do you have in there?", the guilty lot looked back to the angry-looking Clarice.

"Now then, I really don't care who started it, but I'm finishing it." There was a moment of silence. Then she lobbed the snowball she'd hidden. It hit with alarming accuracy in Karl's face, and with arms flailing, he toppled over backwards. As if on cue, Climber also started throwing his own snowballs.

"They have attacked!", shouted Moony. "CHARGE!" Those who wished not to fight promptly dived behind Snake-Head, leaving the group to split up and attack each other with vicious ferocity. And barrages of snow.

The winners of the game was the ones who finished it, with Mizuno and Tidal dropping a thick blanket of snow over everyone in one go. With Climber half-soaked, and Clarice, Allin and Wolfen shivering, the group retreated inside.

Back inside the house, a fire had been set up in the fireplace (which Arma had first flown up and down the chimney to make sure no-one was stuck again). Wolfen was curled up tightly in front like a small cat, whilst Allin, Dragon (head fixed on and kept in place by strips of table-cloth) and the werewolves sat close by the flames. Karl was talking to them about the park before, with Jackie and Metal-Pad adding a few things here and there. Climber kept his distance from the fire, with Clarice sitting close beside him.

"T-That was a pretty good shot back there", he said.

"Just like last time."

"Yes."

"…Are we forgetting something?" Clarice suddenly thwacked herself on the forehead.

"Of course! I'll be right back." Metal-Pad excused himself as well, and hurried alongside Clarice, accompanying her outside. Allin frowned.

"Where's she going now?", she asked Karl, who smiled.

"It's a surprise."

"Oooo! Surprise!", said Dragon, grinning. Her tail started wagging like a dog's. Allin burst out laughing when she saw the werewolves were doing the same thing. Moony smiled awkwardly at the laughter, while Tidal and Ace nudged each other, grinning from ear to ear.

About an hour passed, when Karl was called outside. Everyone inside listened as a heated discussion went on outside, although no-one could really make out the words. Then Clarice came in, a wide smile on her face.

"Kids, there's someone who's here to see you." Wolfen's head flicked up, ears pricked. They all looked to the door. It swung open, and a plump looking fellow walked in carrying a large sack and wearing an oddly shape hat. And not really looking that jolly.

"Ho ho ho", said Karl, wearily. Wolfen and Dragon exchanged looks, before collapsing with laughter, Allin right behind them. Ace raised an eyebrow, whilst the other two started spluttering with held in mirth. Poor Karl was wearing a Santa outfit, with the hat pulled awkwardly over his head. The ponytail still stuck out the back, and he'd refused to wear the beard. Sighing, he dumped the sack on the floor, before looking back out.

"Alright Metal-Nose, it's your turn." Metal-Pad shuffled after him, sporting foam antlers and a red nose stuck onto his helmet. This made even Ace and Jackie burst out laughing.

"Right, embarrassment time's over. Time for the fun." Tipping the sack upside down, a small hill of presents appeared on the floor. Some looked hurriedly put together.

"Happy Christmas!" Clarice looked slightly embarrassed herself. "I didn't know we would have guests so."

"Hey, you shouldn't have", said Wolfen. "We've had Christmas about two months ago." Clarice smiled good-naturedly, then watched as Karl handed out the presents.

Allin pulled out a new jumper from her package. Karl got a small red jacket, Climber got a pair of cyan gloves, and Jackie got a small camera, with a lead that looped round his wrist.

Moony, Tidal and Ace received scarves patterned with their individual elements, whilst Metal-Pad got a small polishing box.

Wolfen and Dragon got small antlers and winter hats, one with paw prints, the other with a green dragon.

Mizuno got a sewing kit. He frowned, and looked up at Clarice, who raised an eyebrow.

"It's a grandma thing", Allin whispered to him. Clarice laughed a little, before seeing large grins on both Karl and Tidal's faces.

"What?" Dragon sniggered, and pointed up. A small black branch of mistletoe hung above two pairs. Allin and Moony looked slightly confused, Clarice and Climber just smiled.

"Someone get a camera", Dragon whispered to Tidal.

"I agree. But what's a camera?" The dragon sighed, whacking herself repeatedly with her tail.

"Why? Why? Why? Why?"

"You never learn", Ace chuckled.

Moony was looking curiously up at the Arma-mistletoe.

"Um, why is everyone staring?", Allin asked.

"You know what that means", said Clarice, pointing to the mistletoe.

"Nu-uh."

"If you and another person meet under mistletoe, you can kiss them."

"So…" Allin and Moony exchanged looks.

"Aw man", Moony muttered. Allin grinned, and pecked him on the cheek. Tidal and Ace exploded with whoops and wolf-whistles. Wolfen rolled her eyes, and bashed their heads together. Moony would have gone bright red if possible, and he shuffled his foot nervously, before peeking out of the window.

"If I'm correct, at Christmas you have Christmas trees."

"True", said Clarice.

"Then…can I show you guys something?"

A large pine tree had grown outside, and this is where Moony led Ace, Tidal, Allin, Wolfen, Dragon, Mizuno and Karl (who had gotten rid of the Santa outfit).

"Allin. This is my gift to you", he said to her. Before spinning round, throwing a hand forward like he was scattering dust into the air. Sparkles of light left his fingers, flying to settle on the tree.

"Wow", everyone murmured. Tidal sniffed.

"My little bro's all grown-up, new powers, getting a girlfriend *sniff* saving the world."

"Tidal. You can't cry", Ace muttered. "We're made of stone."

"Oh right", the water werewolf said normally. Wolfen and Dragon stared, grinning.

"Whaddaya know? Pretty, and good for the environment", Wolfen said.

"We're still going to have to get home, somehow", said Dragon, looking down at the friend.

"Well, _Mizu_ got here somehow. He might be able to get us home."

"True. I'll go ask him." One by one, the group split up, leaving Allin, Moony and Karl alone.

Inside, Metal-Pad, Climber and Clarice watched them.

"Children grow up amazingly fast round here, don't they?", said the armour. Clarice nodded, leaning on Climber.

"You know, Arma still hasn't moved." Metal-Pad sighed, getting the picture.

"I'll leave you two to it then." He left, but out of the corner of his eye, he could see the two kissing.

"You can break life, or love", he murmured. "But you can never break family."

Morning arrived, streaming through the window. Clarice's eyes creaked open, and she blinked wearily.

'_I can't believe I fell asleep on the couch_', she thought. There was an odd weight on her legs, and she sat up hurriedly.

Climber was sprawled on them, still sleeping. Karl was asleep on the large chair, with Metal-Pad curled up near the fireplace. Dragon had take up the dining area, with Wolfen and Allin tucked up in woolen blankets beside her. The trio of werewolves were sprawled around the front-door. Jackie, the wisest, was probably in bed.

"Morning Miss Clarice." Mizuno was perched on the table.

"And how long have you been awake?"

"A while."

…

"I'll help wake everyone up." As Mizuno went round, gently shaking people awake, Clarice lay back with a smile.

'_This was one heck of a Christmas_.'


End file.
